Can you believe that it’s been on our roads for more than a year now? We thought we’d take a look at how Maun’s Tourist Funded Community Bus is benefiting our community.

“The Community Bus has been a ray of sunshine to our children brightening each day through its vibrant colours and comfort”. Taboka Rotsi.

Taboka is the Project Co-coordinator of Bana Ba Letsatsi (BBL) a care centre for orphaned and vulnerable children in Maun. BBL is one of the organisations benefitting from Maun’s unique Community Bus.

Last year – in celebration of Botswana’s 50th Anniversary – Safari Destinations and Travel for Impact (TFI) launched the Community Bus. For the past year it has been making a real difference in the lives of the less fortunate, whilst adding a splash of colour to Maun’s streets.

It’s a school bus, granny transporter, safety zone and life line that empowers our community all rolled into one. It solves the transportation challenges for not one but several charities by operating on a scheduled basis.

In the morning and afternoons, it does a round trip picking up and dropping off kids for Bana Ba Letsatsi. This coincides with the school run pick up and drop off for children staying at the Woman Against Rape (WAR) shelter for victims of gender based violence. Without the support of the bus most of these children simply wouldn’t attend school due to the distances involved, and those that did, would be late and tired from having to walk several kilometres.

After the morning school run, it’s time to collect and distribute daily food parcels for AGLOW to Maun’s impoverished elderly. Often our driver OB and AGLOW volunteer Lesang, are the only people some elderly see all day. So the bus becomes a lifeline, enabling AGLOW to daily monitor the elderly’s wellbeing, and equally importantly, it provides an opportunity for a chat and some friendship and companionship.

Between its scheduled duties, the bus is pressed into service to assist charitable organisations with ad-hoc requests. Perhaps it will be sent to the local butcher to collect a donation of meat for BBL. It may be dropping or collecting the elderly at the clinic. Transporting MAWS volunteers, collecting dog food donations, delivering donated clothes, collecting food parcels for flood relief…on and on the brightly coloured bus bustles about town!

The weekends are equally busy. It may be transporting the elderly to and from a lunch, transporting the hearing impaired on a photography course, taking children on a field trip or providing transport for a disability workshop.

With over 30,000km on the clock, the bus has delivered approximately 1305 meals, completed over 600 school runs and in the process, has indeed become a lifeline for the Community. These words, from one of the elderly that the bus visits, sums up the vision of the Community Bus. Softly spoken, and with a tremble in her voice, she whispers:

“Every day I am looking forward to seeing the bus coming. I like these people who don’t know me, but come and bring me food. I now sleep full every day.”

Having never been to Nxai Pan National Park this was my first chance to discover this somewhat hidden gem in the desert. The landscape was stunning. One could see that the area had experienced some rains prior to our arrival as the flora was slowly coming back to life with bright green shoots and leaves providing a stark contrast to the dry landscape. The majority of trees and shrubs were coming into bloom with a stunning array of multi coloured flowers making for great landscape photography.

We could not have scripted our arrival at Nxai Pan Camp more perfectly. We arrived to a very warm welcome from the Managers, Lets and Thabo. Our camp orientation, however, was delayed for forty five minutes due to the fact that one rather cheeky elephant had decided that the camp pool would make for a better source of drinking water than the waterhole directly located in front of camp. Spectacular to say the least!

After high tea we went out on a short game drive towards the busy waterhole where elephants were dominating the water point to the chagrin of the other wildlife such as buffalos, jackals and other desert species. The inter-action between the elephants themselves and the other wildlife was fascinating, keeping us mesmerized as Chester explained the animals behaviour we were observing.

The next morning we embarked on a short nature walk with Shoes, the resident bushman and our tracker. He provided us with numerous anecdotes and information in the ways of his forefathers during a short walk in the vicinity of the camp. Quite a character if there ever was one, explaining that my failure to start a fire would guarantee that I would never find a wife to marry! The following game drive provided great sightings in the form of three cheetahs, giraffes, zebras, elephants galore and the highlight for us, aardvark out in the open during the day time!

We went through to Baines Baobab’s on our way to the Nxai Pan National Park gate. The baobabs stand out rather majestically as one approaches and the experience is quite humbling as one realises just how long these immortalized baobabs have stood the test of time.

FACTS ABOUT NXAI PAN CAMP

Nxai Pan Camp is run by Kwando Safaris

Activities on offer include game drives, bushman experience and day visits to Baines Baobabs

Camp consists of 8 custom-built rooms (including 1 family room). All rooms are en-suite with thatched roofs and insulation making them cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter

Set in the heart of the Okavango Delta, the renowned and brand new Duba Plains Camp is a wildlife haven and the perfect place to visit year-round.

The constraint of the deep permanent waters of the delta means the wildlife on the 77, 000 hectare private reserve remain here across both wet and dry seasons. A matrix of palm-dotted islands, flood plains and woodland, one of the most beautiful concessions in the Okavango Delta.

Game viewing was mind-blowing, my short 24 hour stay in early January was filled with great sightings.

An enthralling experience from morning till night. Thank you to Great Plains & the managers & staff at Duba for hosting me last weekend. I was absolutely blown away by every aspect of my stay, in particular the surprise evening in the interactive kitchen, a truly unique experience, where chef Herrmann managed to captivate and entertain while preparing an array of gourmet dishes.

Quick Facts:

Belongs to Great Plains Conservation

Five tented rooms, max 10 guests

Activities: early morning and late afternoon/evening game drives, boating (water levels permitting)

If your client is looking for a unique, cozy, romantic and chilled camp, then Pelo is the answer.

Most of these requirements will already be met as the little aircraft descends over the palm tree dotted, flooded landscape of the Jao concession. Your eye gets caught by a tiny island in the shape of a heart; the Setswana word for heart is PELO.

All 5 tents are on stilts facing the water, the intimate terraces open up to the safari wonderland of the deep Delta and are filled with the beautiful cacophony of birdsong.

Pelo is a water camp, meaning there are no vehicles on the island. It therefore combines superbly with productive land camps in Khwai, Moremi Game Reserve or Savute. This camp is a little jewel and shines well at the end of a safari.

Here you come to glide silently over Delta Waters in a Mokoro and explore the endless diversity of the floodplains by boat. Most importantly you come to chill and enjoy yourself and the universe – it should also win the prize for the most stunning pool in the Delta!

Jao water levels vary greatly, your safari consultant will have the best advice for you. Pelo sits in fairly deep waters, which dry out last in the Delta – another reason to include Pelo in your next itinerary!

FACTS ABOUT PELO

Pelo is run by Wilderness Safaris as an Adventures camp.

Activities on offer include mokoro trips, boat based game viewing and seasonal catch and release fishing.

The camp has five guest tents, complete with a covered front veranda, and both an indoor and outdoor shower.

As much as I tried, I simply couldn’t jump over the sunset! Clearly I’m not fit enough, as it took a couple of attempts to get as high as I did! Lack of fitness aside, I’m sure you can see it was quiet fun to try! Fun and enjoyment sums up Rra Dinare camp, a new stunning camp on the Southern side of the Okavango Delta.

Upon arrival it’s immediately apparent that everything is still super new. The wood still smells woody, the linen is nice and crisp the mosquito nets are super white and I’m sure there is not a single mosquito that can go through those! I absolutely loved this camp!

The food was delicious and generous with a wide assortment of drinks, teas and coffee. It was a really special thing for me to be brought a piping hot cup of tea in the morning! Talk about being pampered like a princess! Nobody has ever brought me tea at 6am! I could do this every morning.

The stilted Boma area overlooks the Gomoti River, where elephant, buffalo and hippo amble past. In the afternoon bushbucks are often around the camp nibbling on bushes underneath the tents…so cute! I got to relax by the pool and the amount of game viewing in front of the camp could easily make one think about opting out of a game drive – not that I did. Despite my notions of relaxing poolside, the game drive did not disappoint – I saw loads. I’m no photographer so I really appreciated how the game always seemed to be right in front of me, at the right time, for me and my camera. At one point a lioness rolled upside down and looked like it wanted to be petted, waited for me to snap a couple of pictures, and then turned over again.

We also went on a Mokoro excursion. I´m not a big fan of water but after a lot of jiggling on the game vehicle a Mokoro was the best thing that could happen to me. It was so smooth and more than appreciated. Our Mokoro poler was knowledgeable and cautious and told us when we could not go further as there was a hippo “tanning” on the other side of the channel. I told him that I was very happy with his precautions! I don´t take risks!

FACTS ABOUT RRA DINARE

Rra Dinare is an Under One Botswana Sky Camp, sister camp of Pom Pom Camp.

The camp is run on solar power.

Activities on offer are Game drives with each vehicle carrying 6 pax, Walking Safaris and seasonal Mokoro excursions are also available. The Guides are very knowledgeable and informative.

Rra Dinare has a maximum of 8 tents with one family room inter-leading. The rooms are very spacious with outdoor showers (no inside shower).

Wakeup with coffee/tea brought to the rooms every morning. The dining for all meals is communal. Private meals for honeymooners or for guests who prefer more privacy are available on request.

To get more info please click here and see recent images and general information about Rra Dinare.

It is with great excitement that I write this list. This little town is abuzz with whispers of all things new and interesting. We have been growing in leaps and bounds and it seems that has not stopped yet. Here are 5 more wonderful additions to our fun filled town:

Zambezi House

This may very well become the newest hotspot in Victoria Falls. A vibrant and chic restaurant/bar that is situated right on the banks of the might Zambezi River is providing yet another fantastic social dining spot for locals and tourist alike. The menu provides choices of mouth watering oven baked pizzas and succulent chicken dishes as well as several breakfast options. The deco is modern and tastefully done. It has a generally up-beat vibe with live music over the weekend. It is a wonderful place to dine or just meet up for a drink to talk about a day full of adventure.

Tribal Trap Escape Rooms

Escape Rooms have become a fast growing, worldwide thrill and Pana Karasavvas and Hayley Plaskitt are very proud to open Zimbabwe’s very first escape room right here in Victoria Fall. Participants are given 60 minutes to escape from the room by solving puzzles, playing games and discovering clues within a themed room. It is a thrilling activity and is aimed at a wide range of travellers, young and old alike. One of the things we find most exciting about this product is that not only is it a fun activity to do as a group but the rooms will be themed around the rich culture and traditions known in Zimbabwe and particularly Victoria Falls, so there is educational value behind the product alongside the fun and adventure. We cannot wait to see what the Tribal Trap team have in store for us!

The Victoria Falls

Bushtracks Africa will be launching their new cruise boat. This cruise will float along the Might Zambezi River near the top of the Victoria Falls as most sunset cruises do. However, there is a difference with this boat to the other cruise options. The main one being the luxurious standard they promise to offer guests as well as an option to snack on freshly made Sushi prepared aboard by one of the talented chefs from The Victoria Falls Hotel, as well as other mouth-watering gourmet canapés. They offer a wild range of local and imported beverages for you to sip on as you float along this famous river just meters from one of the Seven World Wonders. If you are lucky, you might just spot some of the different types of wildlife that are drawn to drink or wallow in the river especially during the upcoming hotter months. Click here for their Promotional Video.

Prana Africa Yoga

Could you imagine a better way to start a day full of adventure then with a sunrise, early morning Yoga session with some of the most spectacular views in the world? Yoga is another lifestyle that seems to be taking the world by storm and so it is no surprise that home-grown Victoria Falls local – Danielle Connelly is beyond excited to practice with travellers in this beautiful environment, with the powerful energy from The Victoria Falls. Danielle is very well trained in the Art of Yoga and has been practicing for some time. The classes are suitable for all levels from complete beginners to regular practitioners. The sessions will be offered at The Victoria Falls Hotel and Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, so why not watch the sunrise over the river or falls and prepare for a day full of excitement in a beautifully calm and relaxing way.

The River Brewing Co.

Another first of its kind in Zimbabwe, created by ‘four merry men’ is The River Brewing Co. They are establishing a micro-brewery in one of Victoria Falls oldest buildings. This artisanal concept is growing in popularity worldwide and we are very excited to see this product showing its ‘crafty’ face in the bustling town. Their main brews will be a ‘Steam Lager’ and an ‘IPA’, but there will be a variety of thirst quenching options on offer as their Brewmaster experiments with different taste combinations. The River Brewing Co. will be opening in October, so all you thirsty tourists and locals better get your taste buds ready for a craft beer invasion!

Three of my colleagues and I recently had the pleasure of spending two nights at The Lodge located north of the expansive Central Kalahari Game Reserve. We were picked up at our offices in Maun just after lunch for a comfortable four and a half hour road transfer in their air-conditioned 4×4 to this rather unique product. Although there was not much to see on the way, we kept our spirits up by discussing exactly what we were about to experience as it became apparent that although we were seasoned travellers in regards to camps and lodges in Botswana, we did not quite know what to expect at this property as big game viewing is not the primary focus. This is not to suggest that there is no game in the area (as I realised later on) as we encountered zebras and kudus during our stay there but rather that this property has a completely different ethos as compared to the camps we regularly visit in more predominately game rich areas in the delta.

We arrived to a very warm welcome by Teddy, the lodge manager and his ever smiling staff. The lodge really is beautifully built to match in with the surrounding area and the twenty-five metre lap pool had us all wanting to take a dip right then and there! We freshened up with a welcome cool drink and prepared ourselves to hear the usual camp briefing regarding operations safety pre-cautions and activities. Instead of the usual early morning wake up at 05h30 in the morning for a game drive we were advised we could sleep in until breakfast was served at 07h30! The activities on offer had us all spoilt for choice as one could go on a game drive, walk, fat bike tour of the area or horse riding. Other activities on offer are golfing (desert style!), tennis, an authentic bushman experience (either a walking safari to discover what the desert can provide in terms or nourishment and medicine or a more in-depth fly-camp experience at a bushman village located close to the lodge) or if one is feeling like being pampered, massage treatments are also available at a small supplement. Needless to say we all chose our prepared activities for the following morning with two of my colleagues opting for the horse riding and the third taking in a massage. I opted for fat biking riding with a twist as I was going to follow my colleagues on the horses.

In hindsight, this was probably not the best decision I have made in my life, as the next morning I quickly came to realize one cannot follow horses on a bright orange fat bike through the Kalahari veld. As my colleagues got introduced to their horses and the guides, I took this time to name my fat bike “Bubba” as all the horses had names I did not want my trusted bike to feel out of place. The ride started with a light trot which Bubba and I easily kept pace with, but this was to quickly change. When the horses went into a canter, keeping up with them rapidly become more difficult. Thankfully they stopped when they realised that I had fell from view and waited for me and Bubba to catch up. It was at this point, I made the decision to return back to the lodge with Bubba and let them enjoy the rest of their ride, as I was clearly slowing them down. Again, in hindsight, probably not the best decision as fat biking through tall grass on your own on a bright orange fat bike in a concession that can have wildlife pass through it without a guide would be considered foolhardy at best. I could just imagine the confusion on a leopard’s face seeing me and Bubba huffing and puffing along! Swinging my neck around every two seconds to check for wildlife whilst trying to stay on the “path” we had taken was a challenge to say the least.

Tlotlo and his friend Bubba at Feline Fields

My joy at finally seeing the lodge appear on the horizon was that of the desert when it rains. Pure and utter joy and relief!

Departing the next morning, it dawned on us that we had experienced something completely unique in the tourism industry of Botswana. They whole ethos is centred more around the relaxing and varied experiences available rather than big game sightings.

Safari Destinations is about family. It is the people that share our daily lives, and who we have grown to love and cherish. With our SD family, we create memories, share good times and help each other through the tough ones.

Lorraine and her daughters

Some of those good times are celebrating the birth of the children to staff employed at Safari Destinations. At last count, it was 17 in total with another 2 on the way! Close to 50% of all our staff are parents. This is why lift clubs, meal arrangements, play-dates, “Hello Aunty Sarah” as well as kiddies’ laughter and tears are the order of our day.

Andrea and her son

We all know that total commitment describes our women here at SD. Many years ago when Lorraine and Andrea were still breastfeeding, critical Globetrack training had to take place. So, it all happened “behind the scenes” while the (male) trainer continued his training. He had strict instructions to “Don’t turnaround!”

Tlotlo and his daughter

While 80% of our staff are women, we believe that fathers are just as important as mothers. This is why our Dads get paternity leave with the birth of each child.

Seeletso and his son

Carina and her children (photo taken in the first year of SD)

Our latest recruit is beautiful, little Paige, born to Senior Consultant, Mia Ives. Once Mia returns to work, as a first time mother, she will have the support and understanding of the Managing Directors, Carina and Lorraine as well as the many women here at SD who have walked the path of managing family and work.

Brrr!! Winter is upon us bringing harsh climatic conditions to less fortunate people who are not able to afford the basic necessities to keep warm. And so, it was once again time for Safari Destinations’ philanthropic community winter clothing drive. Utilising our strong community network we embarked on a project to gather as much clothing and blankets as possible within the Maun community. The staff of the company were then involved in distributing these items to organisations serving disadvantaged communities. Those communities identified as being in need (in coordination with Travel for Impact); were AGLOW, WAR, BBL, Basket of Love and Botsetse RDS. These organisations assist orphaned children, disadvantaged elders, disadvantaged teen mothers and their babies. The blankest and clothes were welcomed with open arms and lots of people will now be able to bear the cold a little better.

A big thank you to all those who played a part in the success of this mission; from all those businesses that had clothing boxes to collect the clothing, to those who donated clothing, to Safari Destinations who donated close to 50 blankets, to the company staff who gave their time in collecting, sorting, washing where necessary and then distributing the items. Besides staving off the winter chill, this little bit of kindness put a smile on the faces of many.

Normally we like to tell people that local rainfall isn’t so relevant for what happens in the Okavango Delta, as compared to what water comes down from the Angolan highlands with the annual flood.

We’d then explain how it takes several months for all that water from Angola’s green season rains (Nov – March) to travel sloooowwwllyy through the Delta’s alluvial fan, where it will eventually ‘burst the banks’ of the delta’s permanent waterways & spill out into the seasonal (see that key word, seasonal) floodplains. Normally, we expect this to start happening in April / May.

Well, this year we had SO MUCH local rainfall that the floodplains filled themselves up with surface water, before the permanent channels had much chance to be fed with water from Angola and do the job all on its own. Since mokoro activities are often conducted in seasonal floodplains, because they’re safer than permanent channels will be when peak flood deepens them (they’re nice open spaces with plenty of hippo-free shallow water) having these floodplains fill ahead of time meant that many camps which stopped offering mokoro activities late last year due to suitable floodplains drying up, have already resumed them.

Will it last?

Well, for that we need to see what happens with the ‘main’ flood from Angola. Reports from pilots flying over the Okavango are that the main ‘push’ from Angola’s floodwater hit the Jao concession in the northern delta around Easter, and has now reached the southern delta, around the Nxabega / Kanana area. How long those high water levels last will depend on a number of factors: whether we get any more flood water, and how hot September & October get in order to speed up the rate of evaporation later in the year. Having all that rain water around already means that the ‘main’ (flood) event becomes a bit less relevant than normal in determining when mokoro & boating activities can start for the year. Generally, the best bet for mokoro & boating activities in the delta is to from May travel until September, however certain camps can offer these activities year-round and if you’re unsure, our dedicated consultants can advise on which these are.

The Chobe River got plenty of water this year & peaked around Easter (levels are now slowly dropping). This means that certain parts of the riverfront, such as Puku Flats, Lechwe Flats and Kabulabula have been cut off from the main game drive network thanks to rising water. Given these areas are generally more celebrated for their birding, this doesn’t affect the ‘big game’ viewing by road, and birders will still see plenty anyway. As the Chobe Riverfront is known for huge herds of elephants, the increased surface water elsewhere in the bush means that breeding herds don’t ‘need’ the permanent water of the Chobe River to quench their thirst. Elephants are quite clever mammals, and they know that the sooner they hang out in big numbers on the river, the sooner they eat all the ‘good stuff’ that they’ll need later in the winter. As a result, it’ll take a little longer into our winter months this year to start seeing the massive congregations of breeding herds along the water which have become an iconic landmark of Chobe. Despite this, Chobe’s predators are still out and about, and the lion population on the Riverfront continues to do well.

and the Linyanti?

As with the Chobe Riverfront, the Linyanti is also known for its large numbers of elephant, who will also take a little longer to be spotted in huge herds, thanks to the same phenomenon described above. Certain concessions in the Linyanti feature thicker bush than others, so the later rainfall creates denser vegetation, which may result in more challenging game viewing in some areas until later in the season. The waterways in the Linyanti are affected by different processes than the Chobe and the Delta again, so while the Savuti channel has rainwater in it, we’ll need to wait a little longer to know if there’ll be enough of a push from the Selinda Spillway and Kwando/Linyanti rivers into the Zibadianja lagoon to get it flowing again this year. Scientific theories abound that the Savute channel is also affected by tectonic plate movements, and given that Botswana had a pretty sizable earthquake near the CKGR a month or so ago, we’ll wait to see if there’s any knock-on effect for what happens in the Savute Marsh this year.

Water levels in the Zibadianja Lagoon as of (12.05.17) source: Storm Keen

What about the desert areas?

Let’s start with Nxai Pan. The zebras stuck around longer than usual, but as of a few weeks ago, have finally started their slow saunter back to the Chobe Riverfront. All that rain resulted in a hippo (of all things!) making the waterhole at Nxai Pan Camp his home. On the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans, there’s enough surface water that Jack’s Camp guests have been taking their sundowners ankle-deep in water and huge numbers of flamingoes have moved into the pans for nesting. Uncharted Africa’s Ralph Bousfield suggests the flamingos may now be semi-permanent residents in the area for the next few years. The affect on activities on the salt pans is yet to be seen, however quad biking and sleep-outs are unlikely to be on offer in the next few months. All that water means the zebras will be slower in moving down to the Boteti River this year and they may be spotted around the salt pans for a while longer yet.

Flamingoes near Kubu Island: Uncharted Africa via #bushboundgirl

Can’t remember it all?

Don’t worry. That’s what we’re here for. We’ll happily advise you on a case by case basis as to what camp and area best suits your requests for travel, depending on your clients’ interests. While all these un-anticipated natural changes are what makes a safari to Botswana so exciting, we can still recommend the ‘best bets’ based on our personal experience for delivering the experience you’re after.

The Central Kalahari full of water and wildflowers during the peak of the rainy season this past January (Photo credit: Clare Doolan)